The methods and systems disclosed herein are related to the art of digital image processing.
By way of background, an e-book (short for electronic book), also known as a digital book, is an e-text that forms the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book, sometimes restricted with a digital rights management system. E-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-readers or e-book devices (e.g., Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader). Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.
The main advantages of the e-readers are portability, readability of screen in bright sunlight, and long battery life. Similar to the needs for copying pages from a paper book, users of the e-books may also occasionally feel the necessity for printing a few pages from an e-book, for the purposes of sharing, more easily carrying, or more comfortably reading.
Nevertheless, it is not easy to make a print from the existing e-readers. The existing e-readers on the market do not provide a printing function. To make a print, it is necessary to upload the file to a computer and then print from there. However, this may not be an easy task, either. One obstacle is the file format. As various file formats are used for different e-books, printing a file with a particular format may not always be supported.
In the case where an image processing system such as a multifunctional device (often referred to as an MFD or MFP) is easily accessible, directly copying (more specifically, placing the e-reader on top of the scanning platen and pushing the copy button) might be a simple solution for creating a few pages of hardcopy of an e-book.
An MFD is normally a product that provides many useful functions, such as: Photocopying, Network Printing, Scanning, Faxing, and Color Copying and Printing. Existing MFDs, however, are not designed for making copies of e-readers and the image quality is not likely to be optimal.
The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein contemplate new and improved methods and systems that resolve the above-referenced difficulties and others.